A runaway train car that caused serious damage to Utica's Union Station could cost the county more than $1 million. But county leaders say they should not be the ones to foot the bill. Instead, they're calling on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway to take responsibility. Cara Thomas gives you a first-hand look at how deadly this crash could have been.
UTICA, N.Y. -- Passengers stand by the tracks at Union Station every day waiting for an Amtrak locomotive to roll through, but on July 21, several unsuspecting people faced imminent danger as a runaway train car sped toward them.
"If it hadn't been for that decommissioned train being put in place ahead of time there, it would have went right through the building and there were people inside at the time," said Utica Police Chief Mark Williams.
The 265,000 pound train car is believed to have been traveling at about 30 to 40 miles per hour. It slammed into an antique locomotive pushing it into the building, causing serious structural damage.
"We've already begun the expenditure on the capital side here of about $550,000. I expect that to double over the next few weeks," said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente.
As county leaders continue to move forward repairing the historic building there are many questions that have not been answered like, who's responsible?
That train car was parked at the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway site since June 6. Police say a 13-year-old boy was seen playing on the car and accidentally released the brakes.
As of Friday morning, county officials had yet to hear from the railroad company involved.
"Why wasn't it locked down better, why wasn't it secure? Why weren't there wheel chucks or something that would hold that car in place if something liked that happened?" said Picente.
President of NYSW Railway, Nathan Fenno, would not go on camera, but said he is in the process of rectifying the situation and thought someone had been in communication with the county. He has since made a call to Picente.
Fenno said all the rules had been followed and a safety device called a de-rail was in place, but it failed and the car went through. They are currently looking into why that happened.
He says the NYSW site in Utica is currently out of service until they can determine how to ensure nothing like this happens again.
Officials at New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway say their insurance company assessed the damage at the railroad station already. They have not heard back yet about how much of the damage will be covered.
Utica police say the boy who accidentally put the car in motion is not being held responsible. Police say they could not charge him with trespassing, because the closest no trespassing sign was about a mile away.